Hybrid, mixed analogue/digital beam-forming architectures are a central research topic for the development of mm-wave communication for fifth generation. Most approaches are based on phase shifters in the analogue part, which are inherently narrowband. In this study, the authors evaluate the effects and performance of narrowband beam-steering on wideband signals using two different modelling approaches: spatial-narrowband model, in which the inter-antenna element delays are neglected, and spatial-wideband model, in which the inter-antenna element delays are considered. They show that neglecting the spatial-wideband effects on channel models overestimates the focusing of beam-forming, the expected delay spread reduction, and achievable data-rate with an increasing number of antennas and bandwidth. These effects are quantised by simulations using a realistic ray-tracing scenario at 60 GHz.
[1]
Theodore S. Rappaport,et al.
State of the Art in 60-GHz Integrated Circuits and Systems for Wireless Communications
,
2011,
Proceedings of the IEEE.
[2]
Wei Liu,et al.
Wideband beamforming for multipath signals based on frequency invariant transformation
,
2012,
Int. J. Autom. Comput..
[3]
Shajahan Kutty,et al.
Beamforming for Millimeter Wave Communications: An Inclusive Survey
,
2016,
IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials.
[4]
Vittorio Degli-Esposti,et al.
Ray-Tracing-Based mm-Wave Beamforming Assessment
,
2014,
IEEE Access.
[5]
Claude Oestges,et al.
The COST 2100 MIMO channel model
,
2011,
IEEE Wirel. Commun..